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ATI's 4870 HD and 4850 HD Graphics Cards Coming for Mac
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Definitely good news. The 4870 is a lot cheaper than the GeForce cards that are on its performance level, will run Mac OS X Core apps faster, and are about 2x faster than the 3870's gaming performance (and smoke 8800 GTs).
A 4850 will be a great deal, since they're so cheap
A 4850 will be a great deal, since they're so cheap
This is perfect. I ordered a refurb 06 mac pro about a week ago, and it should be here tomorrow. I was going to get a 3870 for it, but now I'll wait and see if the 4x will work with that model. Gaming was the only thing I was worried about giving up in my PC->Mac switch, and it's sounding like it won't be an issue at all!
It's always good to see new video cards being released for the Mac platform. Hopefully they'll keep releasing newer cards at a more reasonable rate.
That's too much of a generalization. First of all, the 4870X2 cards are single-PCB, dual GPU boards. They use an internal Crossfire bridge and crossfire driver model, just like if you had two separate 4000-series cards running in parallel. Because of this, the driver has to be optimized for each and every application in order to divide the processing among both on-board GPUs; if you use an application the driver doesn't recognize, you'll tend to see performance almost identical to a standard 1-GPU 4870 card.
Due to the complexities of the one-board Crossfire model, and the fact that the current drivers on OSX don't support two-card parallel crossfire mode,
I don't think it will be easy to get the 4870X2 running with good performance on the Mac, and hence the reason it probably isn't going to be available.
Secondly, speaking more generally, there is a big difference between platforms. On the Mac, the ATI cards have a much better driver for Core Image processing, Whereas nVidia cards have a slight advantage for OpenGL task. On Windows at least, It appears that Nvidia cripples the OpenGL performance of their Geforce (consumer) line versus their more expensive professional Quadro cards which are used for 3D modeling/animation/CAD applications (OpenGL). Also, on windows, Nvidia's Quadro line has dominated the pro 3D range, while new ATI pro cards based on the RV770 should help them catch up.
Yea, definitely wait. The 4870 is much faster (2x or more) than the 3870! It's really an excellent card.
Agreed. I was hoping the Mac Pros were going to get at least the 4850, and I'm more than happy to see the 4870. I hope this trend continues now that the Mac is getting a significant marketshare!
4870 already in MP '08
Already running a 4870 in my MP for Windows gaming and love it. Have it next to my 2600XT--which is still serving me very well for core image processing.
For those of you thinking multiple 4870s can exist in the same MP you would do well to see what the power requirements are vs. available power connections on the MP motherboard...you'll quickly notice a lack of connectors. Each 4870 requires two additional connections to satisfy power needs. (There are only two on the motherboard.) I guess if you're savvy / brave enough you probably could route some additional power down from the optical drive bays.
At any rate, pleased to see these video cards come aboard
Already running a 4870 in my MP for Windows gaming and love it. Have it next to my 2600XT--which is still serving me very well for core image processing.
For those of you thinking multiple 4870s can exist in the same MP you would do well to see what the power requirements are vs. available power connections on the MP motherboard...you'll quickly notice a lack of connectors. Each 4870 requires two additional connections to satisfy power needs. (There are only two on the motherboard.) I guess if you're savvy / brave enough you probably could route some additional power down from the optical drive bays.
At any rate, pleased to see these video cards come aboard
So when will ATi actually ship the 4870 cards? I mean, it is great to get the cards for the Mac Pro but I am worried that it will be a candidate for a christmas gift ... if not 2009
Too bad--ATI's latest cards have been having serious driver and compatibility issues with Windows. I hope they do better with MacOS, but I won't hold my breath.
They should have gone with Nvidia.
They should have gone with Nvidia.
Last thing I read for the 4850/70 was Q4 2008. Has anyone heard of anything more specific ?
Also will these run on 1st gen MacPros ?
I currently use a X1900XT to play WoW, and from what I've put together (comparing X1900 to 3870, and then 3870 to 4870 in UT3), it looks like I can expect something around double the frame rate.
Also will these run on 1st gen MacPros ?
I currently use a X1900XT to play WoW, and from what I've put together (comparing X1900 to 3870, and then 3870 to 4870 in UT3), it looks like I can expect something around double the frame rate.
IMHO they should move to them and better still, for those with failing Nvidia graphics, to replace them with boards that have ATI chips on them.
I wrote software but I meant hardware. The 4870X2 will run it's on card Crossfire without any board support for dual GPUs.
It's nowhere near that simple.
I wrote software but I meant hardware. The 4870X2 will run it's on card Crossfire without any board support for dual GPUs.
It's nowhere near that simple.
The way the 4870X2 is designed, it should only show up as one card. That should further simplify getting the card to work in OS X as the cards firmware handles the splitting behind the scenes.
The 4870 actually delivers more FLOPS than the GTX280 does (heck, the 4850 does as well) so whenever they get OpenCL up and running, the 4870 will be a beast of card.
Truts me, I'm using a 4870x2 (soon to be under water) and that thing is blazing fast, even on 2560x1600. Once the 4870 and 4850's are out on the Mac Pro, it'll be beastly!
Truts me, I'm using a 4870x2 (soon to be under water) and that thing is blazing fast, even on 2560x1600. Once the 4870 and 4850's are out on the Mac Pro, it'll be beastly!
Apple won't touch the Mac Pro until next year. In January. At MacWorld. With Nehalem.
They are probably waiting for the 5870 (or whatever) to come out on the PC side before they release 4870 Mac cards. For some reason the Mac graphic cards are always a generation or two behind
Insofar as I'm able to tell, this is an unsubstantiated rumour from one site. Maybe it'll ship at the same time as Duke Nukem Forever
Thanks for the update. It was only ever a rumor. We'll get them when the 5870 and 5850 exist.